In October 1864 the LCDR opened Loughborough Road station on the north-to-west Brixton spur which connects the City Branch to the original Chatham Main Line at Brixton station. On 1 December 1872 platforms were opened on the City branch and on the north-to-east spur (called the Cambria Road platforms and spur after nearby Cambria Road). The enlarged station was renamed Loughborough Junction. The Loughborough Road platforms closed permanently on 14 March 1916 as a wartime economy measure, by 1916 all LCDR City branch stations south of the Thames had been closed except Loughborough Junction and Elephant & Castle. Rationalisation of services in the Southern Railway's suburban electrification led to the closure of the Cambria platforms on 12 July 1925.

The Inner South London Line passes across the south end of Loughborough Junction station via a bridge but has never had platforms there. As part of phase 2 of the East London line extension project, this line is now part of the London Overground network operated by Transport for London. Completed on 9 December 2012, this extension connected the Inner South London Line to the East and West London Lines, allowing rail services to run across South London from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction.[2] This creates an orbital network around Central London, fulfilling the Orbirail concept.[3]

The new route passes over both Loughborough Junction and Brixton stations,[2] and the proposals were criticised for not including new interchange stations at these locations.[4][5] No London Overground platforms are planned at Loughborough Junction as the line is on high railway arches, making the cost of any station construction prohibitive.[6]

Map of rail & tube lines passing through Brixton, showing the location of Loughborough Junction and the route of London Overground